Our client's child contacted law enforcement and reported that his parents were smoking marijuana, had marijuana at their office, and had paraphernalia at the home. Rather than obtain a warrant to search our client's property, the law enforcement officer immediately went to the residence to conduct an investigation. When the officer knocked on the screen porch door and received no answer, he went into the porch and knocked on the front door. While on the porch, the officer observed marijuana paraphernalia on the porch but did not remove it as evidence. Ultimately, the officer called our client and asked him to come to the residence as part of the investigation.
Without reading our client his Miranda rights, the officer asked whether our client was smoking marijuana on the porch and whether the paraphernalia was his. In response, our client confessed to these crimes. At that time, he was arrested. Thereafter, our client asked to retrieve his wallet from his business office. The officer accompanied him there and located additional marijuana paraphernalia in plain sight. The officer confiscated this paraphernalia as evidence.
Criminal defense attorney Andy Ingram advised the State Attorney that he would be filing a Motion to Dismiss and Motion to Suppress due to the officer's lack of probable cause to enter our client's business after our client was already placed under arrest for marijuana paraphernalia possession that was never recovered. Moreover, Attorney Ingram argued that all statements made by our client were inadmissible as he was not Mirandized before they were made. In response, the State Attorney dropped the charge against our client outright in order to avoid a hearing on these motions.